Lotus F1 Team's technical director James Allison is astonished by how quickly Kimi Raikkonen has adapted to his new car.

"He has had an amazingly huge impact to the whole team. The way he drives, the way he works with us, the feedback he gives. He had not driven a F1 car in two years. We didn't notice any sign of that. He hadn't driven a F1 car with a full tank before, no problem. He hadn't any prior experience of the Pirellis, no problem. He keeps his tyres alive and precisely identifies any problems with his car. It's a pleasure to work with him."

Lotus F1 Team's technical director James Allison is astonished by how quickly Kimi Raikkonen has adapted to his new car.

"He has had an amazingly huge impact to the whole team. The way he drives, the way he works with us, the feedback he gives. He had not driven a F1 car in two years. We didn't notice any sign of that. He hadn't driven a F1 car with a full tank before, no problem. He hadn't any prior experience of the Pirellis, no problem. He keeps his tyres alive and precisely identifies any problems with his car. It's a pleasure to work with him."

This is an interview, no? Straight out of Allison's mouth into the dictaphone of the reporter... It's not like it's words put out by the team (unless I'm mistaken). Sure, those giving interviews will have been briefed on what to emphasise when certain questions arise, but as far as I can tell, this is an interview, not a press release.

There's no real frame of reference for us, other than he has the rear jacked up high, the rear torsion bar slightly stiffer than the front and camber to give more grip on the front end... All in all, as far as I can tell, a slightly more oversteer car.

It's interesting that according to Boullier, it's Kimi who has adapted to the tires better out of the two Lotus drivers. MTV3 quoteshim as saying "Kimi's good at it but Romain still lacks experience." We'll see. I wasn't happy with his performance on his last season at Ferrari or the stint at WRC. He seems more relaxed now but I don't know if that means anything.

Lotus F1 Team's technical director James Allison is astonished by how quickly Kimi Raikkonen has adapted to his new car.

"He has had an amazingly huge impact to the whole team. The way he drives, the way he works with us, the feedback he gives. He had not driven a F1 car in two years. We didn't notice any sign of that. He hadn't driven a F1 car with a full tank before, no problem. He hadn't any prior experience of the Pirellis, no problem. He keeps his tyres alive and precisely identifies any problems with his car. It's a pleasure to work with him."

I would like to to state what I think. I think Kimi hasn't changed at all, he just changed towards the media a little bit. Which I also think is a matter of time until racing starts and he focuses more on that and much less on having fun/teasing the media

Enjoy it while it lasts

_________________Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

"When I first heard, I was sceptical as to whether he would be able to reignite his desire to compete at the highest level."Then I did an event with him, Sebastian Vettel and some other drivers in Austria last year. We were in every type of motor vehicle you could imagine - motocross, motorbikes and single-seater cars - and he was the first on each of them, and last off. He was even tucked up in bed early.

"He is an enthusiast. He has great skills. He is the kind of guy who if you put him in anything with a motor, he has got the ability to take it to the maximum."

"I've gone from initially being sceptical to now being an absolute believer in his return. It's good for Kimi Raikkonen, it's good for F1 and it should be good for the fans."

"In his first F1 career, when he raced for Sauber, McLaren and Ferrari, he could go from being asleep just before qualifying to delivering a lap that made your jaw drop. It was just incredible to watch.

_________________Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

"It is a brilliant thing to F1. Kimi is one of the best drivers from the last ten years and undoubtedly one of the greatest drivers ever to drive an F1 car. It is great to get him back to the races. It further raises the bar of our sport."

Martin Brundle, via Twitter:"Random thought as I'm in the small hours 'wide awake club' reading up for the Oz GP, I'm SO pleased that Kimi R is back in F1"

So much Kimi love after all the hate in 2009! I'm happy for him (Kimi).. not that he cares lol

2009 hate?

Yes, there was a lot of hate. I think when the F1 fraternity realised that Kimi could walk away from the sport without a concern, F1 fans worldwide saw it as sacrilege and started blaming his motivation for it. It shows how the media can typecast an individual and the world believes it.

Kimi is back, so I am too! F1 just wasn't the same without him. I am quite literally (for want of a better phrase) wetting myself with excitement! Sky package has been upgraded to HD, 47" TV bought, schedule cleared, boss has been told that I may be late on Saturday/Sunday , flags from Belgium 2009 have been brought out of the attic, and the 2012 season is a-go-go!

Glad to see the forum looking fresh too, thought I had the wrong place for a minute! Good job!

Martin Brundle, via Twitter:"Random thought as I'm in the small hours 'wide awake club' reading up for the Oz GP, I'm SO pleased that Kimi R is back in F1"

So much Kimi love after all the hate in 2009! I'm happy for him (Kimi).. not that he cares lol

2009 hate?

Yes, there was a lot of hate. I think when the F1 fraternity realised that Kimi could walk away from the sport without a concern, F1 fans worldwide saw it as sacrilege and started blaming his motivation for it. It shows how the media can typecast an individual and the world believes it.

I would have thought most fans would have realised there may be more to it then meets the eye, with santander becoming main sponsor in 2010 and alonso driving. I am almost certain kimi would have been a match for alonso had they been team mates because he would have raised his game (consciously or sub-consciously). I doubt very much that alonso would have wanted to go against kimi, whether that was part of the deal i dont know.

Kimi is back, so I am too! F1 just wasn't the same without him. I am quite literally (for want of a better phrase) wetting myself with excitement! Sky package has been upgraded to HD, 47" TV bought, schedule cleared, boss has been told that I may be late on Saturday/Sunday , flags from Belgium 2009 have been brought out of the attic, and the 2012 season is a-go-go!

Glad to see the forum looking fresh too, thought I had the wrong place for a minute! Good job!

Martin Brundle, via Twitter:"Random thought as I'm in the small hours 'wide awake club' reading up for the Oz GP, I'm SO pleased that Kimi R is back in F1"

So much Kimi love after all the hate in 2009! I'm happy for him (Kimi).. not that he cares lol

2009 hate?

Yes, there was a lot of hate. I think when the F1 fraternity realised that Kimi could walk away from the sport without a concern, F1 fans worldwide saw it as sacrilege and started blaming his motivation for it. It shows how the media can typecast an individual and the world believes it.

I would have thought most fans would have realised there may be more to it then meets the eye, with santander becoming main sponsor in 2010 and alonso driving. I am almost certain kimi would have been a match for alonso had they been team mates because he would have raised his game (consciously or sub-consciously). I doubt very much that alonso would have wanted to go against kimi, whether that was part of the deal i dont know.

I think All Kimi fans realises that, and all Alonso fans and Kimi haters are rejecting this theory.. We all know that Kimi never BS, when he was asked if it was Santander's money that got him fired, he said "maybe, you have to ask them".. otherwise he would either say no, or I don't know.

I've said this so many times before in the old forum. Santander are spending MILLIONS and for what? marketing. Brazil is one of their biggest growth markets and ofcourse Spain is their main country that's why they're sponsoring ALonso (they got him in McLaren as well), so it makes perfect business sense to keep Massa and pay out Kimi, who also poses a risk of outshining their golden-boy whom they're investing their money to market.

No one in his logical mind would choose Massa over Kimi at that point if his heart was purely about performance and the goodwell of the team. Massa was injured, Kimi is a WDC and with one of the biggest fanbases amongst his colleagues ,and above that all, he would cost much more to fire than Massa.. no matter how people spin this, its clearly Santander. Team leading and other BS is laughable. when Ferrari decided to hire Kimi they knew EXACTLY what they're getting.

_________________Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

I would have thought most fans would have realised there may be more to it then meets the eye, with santander becoming main sponsor in 2010 and alonso driving. I am almost certain kimi would have been a match for alonso had they been team mates because he would have raised his game (consciously or sub-consciously). I doubt very much that alonso would have wanted to go against kimi, whether that was part of the deal i dont know.

I think All Kimi fans realises that, and all Alonso fans and Kimi haters are rejecting this theory.. We all know that Kimi never BS, when he was asked if it was Santander's money that got him fired, he said "maybe, you have to ask them".. otherwise he would either say no, or I don't know.

I've said this so many times before in the old forum. Santander are spending MILLIONS and for what? marketing. Brazil is one of their biggest growth markets and ofcourse Spain is their main country that's why they're sponsoring ALonso (they got him in McLaren as well), so it makes perfect business sense to keep Massa and pay out Kimi, who also poses a risk of outshining their golden-boy whom they're investing their money to market.

No one in his logical mind would choose Massa over Kimi at that point if his heart was purely about performance and the goodwell of the team. Massa was injured, Kimi is a WDC and with one of the biggest fanbases amongst his colleagues ,and above that all, he would cost much more to fire than Massa.. no matter how people spin this, its clearly Santander. Team leading and other BS is laughable. when Ferrari decided to hire Kimi they knew EXACTLY what they're getting.

So, you folks have never heard of the saying "It's just business", huh?

I would have thought most fans would have realised there may be more to it then meets the eye, with santander becoming main sponsor in 2010 and alonso driving. I am almost certain kimi would have been a match for alonso had they been team mates because he would have raised his game (consciously or sub-consciously). I doubt very much that alonso would have wanted to go against kimi, whether that was part of the deal i dont know.

I think All Kimi fans realises that, and all Alonso fans and Kimi haters are rejecting this theory.. We all know that Kimi never BS, when he was asked if it was Santander's money that got him fired, he said "maybe, you have to ask them".. otherwise he would either say no, or I don't know.

I've said this so many times before in the old forum. Santander are spending MILLIONS and for what? marketing. Brazil is one of their biggest growth markets and ofcourse Spain is their main country that's why they're sponsoring ALonso (they got him in McLaren as well), so it makes perfect business sense to keep Massa and pay out Kimi, who also poses a risk of outshining their golden-boy whom they're investing their money to market.

No one in his logical mind would choose Massa over Kimi at that point if his heart was purely about performance and the goodwell of the team. Massa was injured, Kimi is a WDC and with one of the biggest fanbases amongst his colleagues ,and above that all, he would cost much more to fire than Massa.. no matter how people spin this, its clearly Santander. Team leading and other BS is laughable. when Ferrari decided to hire Kimi they knew EXACTLY what they're getting.

So, you folks have never heard of the saying "It's just business", huh?

actually. that's exactly what I'm saying

it had nothing to do with Kimi's ability to lead the team, performance, motivation..etc.. it was strictly business

EDIT: I even have a theory that goes a bit deeper than this, but of course you can take it with a grain of salt as it is based on so many assumptions.

[ warining: read only if you like fiction and conspiracy theories ]

Kimi extended his contract in 2008 while everyone was saying he lost interest, he's not motivated..etc.., the infamous interview with brundle(?) resurfaced as well, where he said "I only want to win one WDC and get the hell out". After the renewal he said something in the context of "it was up to me to sign or not, and I decided to extend", from that I'd draw that Kimi had a clause in his contract. And I assume that it was either a. with every WDC or b. if he beat his teammate, he gets an option to extend for a year. In 2008, Kimi had to get his managers to interfere to get the suspension he preferred back into his car (correct me if I'm wrong). Chris Dyer said that the team has let Kimi down and not the other way round in 2008. That says a lot! How can you give priority to Massa's preference above your reigning champion who was actually leading the championship at the point the suspension was changed??? doesn't make sense to me.

I can't wait for Kimi to retire and write a book about his career.

_________________Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

Kimi is back, so I am too! F1 just wasn't the same without him. I am quite literally (for want of a better phrase) wetting myself with excitement! Sky package has been upgraded to HD, 47" TV bought, schedule cleared, boss has been told that I may be late on Saturday/Sunday , flags from Belgium 2009 have been brought out of the attic, and the 2012 season is a-go-go!

Glad to see the forum looking fresh too, thought I had the wrong place for a minute! Good job!

In this week's edition of Flemish news weekly "Knack", Jérôme D'Ambrosio speaks of his past, present and future career. During the interview he was also asked about Kimi. I'll translate what he said:

Knack: "What kind of a person is Räikkönen? Everybody says you can't talk to him."

Jérôme: "Let me put it this way; he speaks a bit less than many others. Kimi only speaks when he has something to say, but I see that as a quality. It is much more important that you can immediately see he is a top driver. You can tell by the feedback he gives the engineers, by the way he works on the set-up of the car. I found that really impressive during winter testing. He has an inner force, as if he is mentally indestructible. That's a quality I recognize in nearly all world champions."

There, I hope you liked reading how a young driver sees Kimi.

_________________Use every man after his desert, and who should scape whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity.

I would have thought most fans would have realised there may be more to it then meets the eye, with santander becoming main sponsor in 2010 and alonso driving. I am almost certain kimi would have been a match for alonso had they been team mates because he would have raised his game (consciously or sub-consciously). I doubt very much that alonso would have wanted to go against kimi, whether that was part of the deal i dont know.

I think All Kimi fans realises that, and all Alonso fans and Kimi haters are rejecting this theory.. We all know that Kimi never BS, when he was asked if it was Santander's money that got him fired, he said "maybe, you have to ask them".. otherwise he would either say no, or I don't know.

I've said this so many times before in the old forum. Santander are spending MILLIONS and for what? marketing. Brazil is one of their biggest growth markets and ofcourse Spain is their main country that's why they're sponsoring ALonso (they got him in McLaren as well), so it makes perfect business sense to keep Massa and pay out Kimi, who also poses a risk of outshining their golden-boy whom they're investing their money to market.

No one in his logical mind would choose Massa over Kimi at that point if his heart was purely about performance and the goodwell of the team. Massa was injured, Kimi is a WDC and with one of the biggest fanbases amongst his colleagues ,and above that all, he would cost much more to fire than Massa.. no matter how people spin this, its clearly Santander. Team leading and other BS is laughable. when Ferrari decided to hire Kimi they knew EXACTLY what they're getting.

So, you folks have never heard of the saying "It's just business", huh?

actually. that's exactly what I'm saying

it had nothing to do with Kimi's ability to lead the team, performance, motivation..etc.. it was strictly business

EDIT: I even have a theory that goes a bit deeper than this, but of course you can take it with a grain of salt as it is based on so many assumptions.

[ warining: read only if you like fiction and conspiracy theories ]

Kimi extended his contract in 2008 while everyone was saying he lost interest, he's not motivated..etc.., the infamous interview with brundle(?) resurfaced as well, where he said "I only want to win one WDC and get the hell out". After the renewal he said something in the context of "it was up to me to sign or not, and I decided to extend", from that I'd draw that Kimi had a clause in his contract. And I assume that it was either a. with every WDC or b. if he beat his teammate, he gets an option to extend for a year. In 2008, Kimi had to get his managers to interfere to get the suspension he preferred back into his car (correct me if I'm wrong). Chris Dyer said that the team has let Kimi down and not the other way round in 2008. That says a lot! How can you give priority to Massa's preference above your reigning champion who was actually leading the championship at the point the suspension was changed??? doesn't make sense to me.